Door spring and check



May 11, 1948. B. MALLORY DOOR SPRING AND CHECK Filed July 27, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR m; l BmmbLMal/ory,

May 11, 1948. B. MALLORY DOOR SPRING AND CHECK 1 Filed July 27, 1946 i 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fvl FAG] I L/ INVENTOR. 'Bon/I/e L./7a//0 Patented May 11, 1948 m mic UNITED STATES F I CE 'DOOR SPRING CHECK :Bonnie PL. Mallory, Gleveland Heights, flhio, rassignor to The B. :L. Mallorav company, Hazel Park, .Mich.,=a .corporationnf'ltlichigan ApplieationJnly 27, 1946, SerialNo."B86;ii9 7 (cine-4a) .Thisrlnvention is :animproved door spring and check. iIt .is a Emodification 'oi 'ithe combined springiand recoil retarderfor shock:=absorber that forms it'he :subject matter of :a companion application :filed concurrently herewith.

.s-Besides "the .general objects, which iit .shas :in

common with .the invention just referred to, :of

providing :a :relatively :simple and compact iconstrnction that; is ma'denup'alm'ost entirelyrofrsheet metal stampings so designed as to cheapencand facilitate iproduction and assembly; 1 that 1 is convenient of installation, and that. is zvery efficient and *Tdurable in .service, :requiring -.1ittle:or.no "attention after installation, .my present invention the further objects of providing adoor 'springzand "checkthat-'ofiers :the minimum of resistance to .the :opening of the .zdoor tup 1307B "certain 5-point iwhen it functions 'to slow down the movement 'of the door and zprevent too sudden 1 a stop when the :door is swung :fully :open, and which :olfers mo aresistance tto the action :of the spring in "closing "the door until the 'door :has reached -a certain qnoint when there tie a :pro-

.gres'sive :increase :in :resistance :until the maximum :is :attained .TjlIStlbGfOIB the door doses; of providing a door :spring and :chec'k wherein the spring "may be easily and quickly adjusted to producers, spring-action: appropriate toathe rweight and rsize Jof ithe .door with :which the device is to :beiused,:.and:of providing; a. door spring and check that its quiet :in operation.

5A 'furth'er obj ect 40f rmy1=present invention is to provide 241 :stop that i-s semiaautomatic :in its 'actioni in thathy quic'kly releasing-the door when the latter isiswungito :the limit of :itszmovement through 'a ipredetermine'd 'full open position, the stop will function to hold the door in i'said position; :and, reversely, when tthe zdoorwiszagain swung "to the limit :Jo'f its :movement :and .i'si'owly released, the step will be rendered inoperative to allow the "door to close.

inas'tilliturther obj'ectfisato rprovide a cons'truction, ziinvolving ithefaforesaides'top which is permanentlyxass'embledtat the itime: of;manufacture 'for use withteither afright hand :or a left hand "opening :"door, and ;incapable :of :attachment =.-to the mother, -thereby insuring against 1 a -wrong installation.

H'he foregoing iiobiects :and advantages, -.with othersihereinafteriappearing, :are :attained. in the embodiments :of the :invention iillustrated iin the accompanyingdrawing' wherein Fig. 1 is a :ffragmentary elevational :view of 2a door :and :door

fframe seqnipped ":with cone :form or :mw improved door spring rand check; Fig. '22 sis a ibottom .plan

view of the door :spring and check .shown in the preceding view, :adrawn to a scale considerably larger than that iOf Fig. 31, the door and frame being iindicatedzin rthe ipresent :view by dot-anddash dines; .Eig. 5-3.: is a section :on the line v-i----3 angles "to reach rother of 2a ;plurality of energizing bands employed in ithe illustrated embodiments 'of theiinvention, r and which are-shown as straight or "in relaxed :conditi'on "as they would appear when :niit in ithe acasing; .Eig. -7 .is an I elevational new of a a modified form of the invention 1 incorporating 12a :stop :fior holding the door open, the aspect :of this #view *Lbeing :indicated by the line 1- :Df iiig. :8; #Fig. :8 is:a bottom :plan .view of the construction shown -.in Fig. '-7, the present view indicating 'iahe iclosed, :open, :and intermedi ate,positionsidfitheidoor;-with: the corresponding "positions of the device indicated in full lines wherethe doordsidllwopen, and inidoteand-dash lines where thefiwr-isiin closedand intermediate positions, :andIFig. 291is a itransverse sec tion'through the device as' theipartszwould appear when the *door is :m intermediate *position, the

plane-of section being indicated by the line 9-3 'tures. in thecoverrandihracket is the reduced end of amountingistudllti. 'Theparts are rigidly-Se cured atogethervdesiralblyiby weldingthe reduced 'endof:the.studtocthelbracket. Similarl secured within.registering. .slots of .thebracket. and cover is-one.eridhtaifingerifi. .l-surrounding the mountingstudaadiacentthelcoveri3, is,a bushing 1., and rriouritedon the s'tud'blowsaidbus'hing is a bearing-.8.

.l 0.. is-.:a=cy1indrica1 housing or casing having an annular end .wall .Ijl that .is ',provided with a central;inwardlyedincctedihoss IZ, said boss surrounding and :heing .secure'd .to the bearing .8. Therupperiedgegofzthe peripheralwall of the cas- 3 s o athat :the casing is capable of ifree rotation with respect to cover. snugly fitted wi hin the peripheral wall of the casing is layer [5 of suitable friction material, and expanded against the inner surface thereof are a plurality of resilient energizing bands. ihree such bands are shown, and they are designated, respectively, l6, l1 and l8. Fastened to each band near one end thereof is an L-shaped abutment, those of the respective bands being designated 56*, I? and l8 Also secured to the bands in opposed spaced relation to these abutments, are others designated l5, i'l and N the latter abutments being spaced variable distances from the first mentioned abutments, the distances, according to the present illustrated arrangement beingprogressively greater [from the band it tothe band prising the bracket 2 and cover 3 reposes within the space between the opposed sets of abutments, and in the operation of the device said finger is alternately engaged by the abutments of the opposed sets, as will more fully appear hereinafter Fastened, as by welding, to the outer side of the bottom of the casing IE! is one end of an arm 20. Said arm is provided with a longitudinal slot 2| having an enlargement Zi at one end thereof, and arranged to traverse this slot is a roller 22. Said roller is mounted on a stud'23, carried by a bracket 24 that is fastenedby screws 25 to the door D. The roller is shown as operating between two washers 26 and 2'! which, with said roller, are looselymounted on the stud 23 between the head thereof and theportion of the bracket 24 to which the stud is riveted. lhe en largement 2| of the slot permits passage ofthe washer 21 during installation.

Occupying the casing l and arranged substantially concentric to the axis thereof is a coil spring 30, the ends whereof are turned in an axial direction and are engaged, respectively, through registering holes in the cover 3 and bracket 2 and in the wall llof the casing and the adjacent part of the arm 26. There is, desirably, a series of holes 33 formed in the wall I I and arm 20, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the tension of the spring may be adjusted by engaging its adjacent end in different ones of said holes. The parts are held in assembled condition by a screw 35 that is threaded into the lower, end of the mounting stud 5 and is shown'as supporting'a washer that engages the lower end of the hearing 8. v

Before describing the operation of the invention, I wish to say that, when 'the device is in normal conditionthat is, when the door is shut, the abutments (6", N and I8 engage the finger 6, as indicated in Fig. 4. Now, upon opening the door, the arm 20, and consequently the casing i8, layer 15, and energizing b'ands'lG, I1 and i8, swing or rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4. At the samev time, the tension of the spring 30 is increased because the spring is wound tighter as the doorswings open. The only resistance initially imposed upon the swinging open of the door is that offered by thespring 35. However, after the door has swung open a sufiicient distance to cause the abutment 16 to engage the finger 6, the resistance will be increased by the retarding influence of the band US. This will be relatively'slight, however, because of the fact that the abutment is is very near the advanced end of the band 15, wherefore the shorter or said advanced end of the band has little tendency to expand with added pressure 4 against the layer 15. During this time, the longer trailing end of the band, due to the drag of its terminal portion, will tend to withdraw from and reduce the pressure upon the layer I5. The resistance, however, will become somewhat greater when the abutment I! engages the finger 6 to arrest movement of the band I l, and again when the abutment H3 engages said finger and stops the band l8. Thus there will be a building up of a reasonable amount of resistance as the door approaches full open position so as to avoid the door being brought abruptly to a positive stop. When the door is released, the spring 30, through its recoil action, swings the door toward closed posi- I8. The previously mentioned finger 0 that is carried by the stationary structure comtion, at first with no resistance. However, as soon as the abutment 6 engages the finger 6, it will arrest movement of the energizing band I6 and as a consequence, the longer end of said band will, under the action of the relatively rotating casing l0 and layer 15, tend to unwind, so to speak, and expand, thereby to exert more than normal pressure against the layer l5. This results'in appreciable resistance being ofiered tov the closing of the door. proportionately as the abutments 11 and i8 en-- gage the finger 6 and arrest movement of the respective bands IT and I8. Accordingly, the recoil action of the spring 30 will be effectively checked or retarded and the door will be caused to close gently. a

In describing the modification of the invention illustrated in Figs. '7 to 9, the parts thereof which are substantially the same as the corresponding parts of the above described form will be designated by the same reference characters. Now: substituted for the washer 26 of the first described embodiment, is a stop 48, shown as formed of sheet metal, having a downturned flange or abutment M at one end thereof. Near its other end the stop is provided with an aperture 42 that is occupied by the stud 23 and is sufficiently larger than the stud to insure free rotation of the stop on the stud. Obviously, the stop is overbalanced in the direction of said flange orabutment 4| and this causes the stop to bear with appreciable friction on the side of the roller 22 nearest said flange or abutment; and to prevent the stop from adhering to the overlying portion of the bracket 24 in case a film of oil is present between the bracket and the stop, one or the other, in the present instance the bracket, is provided with a slight projection 43. The disposition of the projection with respect to the range of movement of the stop 46 makes certain that the stop will bear with greater friction upon the side of the roller 22 nearest the flange or' abutment 4|. I

It will be noted, also, that the bracket 24 it;

provided with bosses 4'5 (desirably formed by d6: pressions) which serve to arrest the swinging movement of the stop =40, the stop being shown in full lines in Fig. 8 as engaged with one of said bosses 45. i In this connection it may be explainedthat in any installation, only one of the bosses 45 is engaged by the stop 40. The pur-' pose of the two stops is to adapt the bracket to either a lighter left hand installation, so to speak, as will hereinafter more fully appear. 'Attention is called to another difierence between the present embodiment and that previously described which is the omission of the enlargement 2| at the inner end of the slot 2|. The reason for this omission is to prevent disassembly of the structure after it is originally assembled for use with either a right hand or a left hand doonas This resistance steps upapreviou'slytbrought out Ina'as'sembling'the de vieexat the :time of vrmanuiacture, :the sprin so is arranged a'ccordingwoiwhetherzthe deviceiis 'to be usedlwith arright or a left handldoor, so that the *spring .willitend -.to close ithe door; and I the :stop Q40 and :bracket 224 are 'positioned with reispect :to :the :arm :25; so that the Iba se of the bracket will be disposed on the side of thetarm tadiacent thadoor'and:the flange or abutment ii :of :the stop I on th'e :opposite Aside :of said i arm. After :the bracket and stop :are: so arranged and the-shankofithe 'studazia isirivetedto the braeket. t the zparts nre incapable :of disassembly :by any :ordinary lmeans.

vIn considering the operation :of the :present I form iiflf Ltne invention it rshould abe remembered thatiethe-sprlng tends to: swingithe'armreonstantly .inmtdirectiontto:elosetthemloorsoithat? ei roller 22 always bears: 'againstzthesside -:w.all:of hile 5 slot 1 I that :is nearest the door, zit being an obvious "fa'tithat'. thecslotis;slightimgreateriiniwidtlr than the-:diameter of tithe ;roller. Accordingly, lwhen thedooriisrswungnp'en as indicatedby the arrow '11 iin Fig, :8, :the iroller -:Wi11 irotate in a direction :to :swing the stop inybyireasotn :ni Lthe lla'tters frictional engagement with the side of thesroiler :nearest the tfiange .or abutment t i 's'o as to en @gage stirrer-advancing aed go :of asafd: flange :or abutrment rwithitlre ze'dge :of the ;arm :rem'ote from. ;the1door-.D, thepartsibeingisoiindicatedzinzthe intermediate position of the door il'llFig.-i.8. Son ssequent1y,::as'the idooriswings :opeii, e sto.p w iils'slide taalongxthesarmiand iretain :tne epo tion just described :until aitLreacheSe-the ;outer ren of Ethe armwhen;it=:will aswingiabout saidaend with the flange or abutment M in slightly sspaced :re- .lation ithereto until zit ..engages the adjacent boss '4'5i :At this pointzit would :be Well to 1 interpose :explanationcof howthezdevice: is? installed. The mounting :bracket 2 is i'first r secured ,to door .framel with the :fian'ge 4 of :theicover-B spaced i'approximately an=eighthrofi aninchffrom the ad- .jacentTsurfa'ce :of the door when 1 the door ris :in

ctosedqaosition. The dUGliiS thED, swung :open a little beyond the location a'ttwhichiitsis desired the.door.; shall.beiheld oy the stop 40. and with the door held in this location the roller 22 is moved to the 'extreme outer'en'dof the slot 25. With-thelpartsso arranged, .the bracket-2d is fas tened to the door D by theiscrews 25. Before continuing to describe the operation, it should be pointed out 'thatthe distance between the rotatingraxis of the stop 49 and the insideisurface ofthefiange or abutment tl tis greater-'thani'the vdistance between said axis andtthe end of the arm 2fl'=when' the door occupiesrthe location afore- :said. :Accordingly, when the door is so positioned, the abutment of the stop it! is somewhat beyond the end of the arm 2%. Now, upon quickly re leasing the door to the recoil action of the spring 30, the roller 22 will recede within the slot 2! while the inertia of the stop 4!! causes the stop to retain its position with the abutment H thereof engaged with the end of the arm so as to hold the door open. When it is desired to release the stop, the door is returned to the extreme limit of its movement and then slowly released to the action of the spring 39 under which circumstances the roller (now rotating in the reverse direction to what it did when the door was being opened) will carry the stop around slowly, so the movement of the stop will be unaffected by inertia, alongside the arm with the now advancing end of the flange or abutment 4| sliding along the 6 edge of the arm remoteifrom :thedoer vuntilzthe' 'd'o'or is closediby :thecspring under the ultimate cumulative :constraining dnflnence "of the :energi-zing bands 6, l-iliand lfi.

'Having thus described my invention, what :I claim is: l

1. "A door check :ccmprising "two :members mounted for relative: oscillationon asubstantially the-sameax-is, the zfirst memb'er includingra .fric- 1 tion surface substantially concentricto saidaaxis,

a plurali-ty ofresilient energizingibands frictione1ly engaging said surface, icircumferential1y spaced opposed' abutmcnts on each band; andan element carried by: thesec'ond: memberaandiover- 1,15 lying -the energizing:bands'between theso'pposed l abutments theredf.

2. A door check as defined by claim 1 wherein the abutments of the several bands are spaced apart different distances.

3. Adoor cheek as defined by elaiml wherein the "abutments of the -:several bands are spaced :ui'iierent :distances i from :the abutment :en'gaging portions of said elemerit.

4. A door check as defined bysclaim J Wherein Z25 saidsopposedabutments of: each band areconsid- :erably nearer 'one end-athan the otheriofisaid hand.

:25. 5A combined idoor spring and :check ficomprising thecombination defined byi'claim algplus spring means 'te'nding to efiect relative rotation :ef said membersiin a directionato closea door.

6. n'c'ombined doorrspring and eheck eomprising the eombinatiomdefined ibysciaim "1, i plus a spring having its respective'endsconnected:to said members and tending 'tozenectrel'ative rotathan of the-members in==ailiirectiontorlose afdoor. 7 A door oheek :comp'r-ising 'two members mounted i for relative oscillation:onsubstantially the same axisy the first member includingsa' friction surface:substantiallyztconcentrici to: said axis, 40 a pluralityiof resilient energizing bandszextending Hahoutzanrlcexpandedagainstzsaidzsurfacegcircum- :ferentially spaced :opposed .abutments-zon each :band so onsiderablyrneareraonesendtthan thero ther said'ibandga fingerzcarriedtby-i thetsecorrdlmemher an'd nverlymgt'the:renergizingzbands between the opposedzabutmentsithereof,zandiazcoil spring havingiits respectivezerrdsrconneeted:toisaitiimembersranditendiirgiitozeife'otrelative rotatioxrzofithe -members 1' in :direction 'fto scause Tthe #abutments adj acentitheilonger iendsrofztheienergizing :bands :to 'hear against isai'd finger during athe relative rrotationcofithe membie'rs-i by theispring.

33. rA 'door check comprisingitwormembers'capfable of a relative iosciilation on iisubstantially the same axis,:mounting 'meansnwhercby one of -said members-is:immovably attached-t0:ardoorirame, means: for :operativelytconnectingi the other memsber to a floor hinge'dttorsaidframe so -that when the door is swung said othermember will be rotated relative to the first mentioned member,

one of said members consisting of a housing provided with a cylindrical friction surface that is substantially concentric to said axis, a plurality of energizing bands arranged side by side and extending about and expanded against said surface, circumferentially spaced opposed abutments on each band, those of the several bands bein spaced difierent distances apart, and a finger carried by the member other than the one provided with said friction surface, said finger overlying said energizing bands between their respective opposed abutments.

9. A door spring and check comprising the combination defined by claim 8, plus: a spring connected to said members and tending to effect relative rotation thereof in a direction to close a door.

10. A door check comprising a, cylindrical casing and a cover therefor, a layer of friction material extending about the interior of the peripheral wall of the casing, a plurality of resilient energizing bands arranged side by side and extending about and expanded against'said layer, circumferentially spaced opposed abutments on each band and located considerably nearer one end of the band than the other, the several bands being arranged with their shorter ends extending in the same direction, a, finger carried by the cover and overlying the bands between their respective opposed abutments, mounting means for attaching the cover to a door frame, and operative connections between the casing and a door hinged to said frame.

11. A door spring and check comprising the combination defined by claim 10 plus: a coil spring enclosed by the casing and having one of its ends connected to the cover and its opposite end connected to the casing and tending to create relative movement between the cover and casing in a direction to close a door.

12. A door spring and check comprising the combination defined by claim 10 plus: a coil spring enclosed by the casing and having one of its ends connected to the cover and its opposite end connected to the casing and tending to create relative movement between the cover and casing in a direction to close a door, one end of the spring being adjustable with respect to the part to which it is connected.

13. A door spring and check comprising a bracket that is adapted to be secured to a door frame, a mounting stud depending therefrom, a two-part cylindrical casing surrounding and substantially concentric to said stud, one part of the casing being fixed to said bracket and the other rotatable about said stud, one of said casing parts having an internal cylindrical wall characterized by a friction surface, a plurality of resilient energizing bands arranged side by side and extending about and expanded against said friction surface, circumferentially spaced opposed abutments on each band nearer one end thereof than the other, the opposed abutments of the several bands being spaced different distances apart, the shorter ends of all bands ex-' tending in the same direction, a finger carried by the other part of the casing and overlying the energizing bands between their respective opposed abutments, a coil spring surrounding the mounting stud between the same and the energizing bands, one end of the spring being connected to one of the casing parts and the other end of the spring being connected to the other casing part, an arm'extending laterally of the casing part other than the one secured to the aforesaid bracket, and operative connections between said arm and the door; the parts being so arranged that the tension of the spring is increased as the door is swung open, and the abutments nearer the longer ends of the energizing bands engage said finger during the closing of the door by said spring.

14. A device of the class described comprising two members mounted for relative oscillation on substantially the same axis, the first member including a friction surface substantially concentric to said axis, a plurality of resilient energizing bands extending about and expanded against said surface, circumferentially spaced opposed abutments on each band, a finger carried by the second member and overlying the energizing bands between the respective opposed abutments thereof, a bracket arranged for mounting on a door frame and to which one of said members is rigidly secured, an arm extending from the other member substantially radially of said axis, said arm having a longitudinal slot, a traveler occupying said slot, and a support for said traveler adapted for attachment to a door hinged to the aforesaid frame.

15. A door spring and check comprising the combination defined by claim 14 plus: spring means connected to said members and tendingto effect relative rotation thereof in a direction to close the door.

16. A door check comprising two members mounted for relative oscillation on a substantially common axis, the first member including a friction surface approximately concentric to said axis, an energizing band frictionally engaging said surface, circumferentially spaced opposed abutments on said band, and an element carried by the second member and overlying the energizing band between said opposed abutments so as to be alternately engaged by the abutments during relative oscillations of the aforesaid members, the distance between the opposed abutments being considerably greater than the distance between the parts of said element wherewith the abutments are arranged to engage.

BONNIE L. MALLORY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date} 1,125,969 Foerster Feb, 2, 1915 1,351,650 Huifer Aug. 31, 1920 1,671,614 Smith May 29, 1928' 1,733,514 Phinney Oct. 29, 1929 

